


At the Door

by Julesmonster



Series: Family of Three [1]
Category: NCIS
Genre: Drama, Established Relationship, Family, M/M, Original Character(s), Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-09-24
Updated: 2012-09-24
Packaged: 2017-11-14 23:12:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/520507
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Julesmonster/pseuds/Julesmonster
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony finds a baby at his door. Established DiNozzo/Gibbs.</p>
            </blockquote>





	At the Door

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Nobody really thought twice when Tony was late for work one Monday. It didn't happen often, but it happened enough to not set off any alarm bells. The fact that they didn't have any current cases made it somewhat alright. But when noon came and went and there was still no sign of DiNozzo, Gibbs started getting angry. He had McGee call him every half hour on his cell phone and home phone. By five, they still hadn't seen or heard from Tony and Gibbs was beginning to get worried.

Gibbs sent McGee home and went to Tony's apartment. He used the spare key Tony had given him years ago and let himself into the small one bedroom flat. There was no sign of a struggle. In fact, nothing had changed since the last time Gibbs had been to the apartment only two days ago. But, no, that wasn't completely true. There was something different. There was a tiny blue baby blanket tossed carelessly over the back of a chair and an empty baby bottle on the stand beside that chair.

Not sure what to make of that, Gibbs sat down in the chair and lifted the blanket. It still smelled of baby powder and the special baby-smell that he remembered from when Kelly was an infant. He picked up the bottle and sniffed. It wasn't formula, which meant that the baby had to be older. He wasn't sure what had been in the bottle, but it looked and smelled like some kind of juice.

He was about to get up and search for further clues when the front door swung open and a frazzled looking Tony entered carrying a baby. From the looks of him, Gibbs would guess that the boy was between six and nine months old. His face was flushed with fever and his head was lolling against Tony's chest fast asleep.

"LJ," Tony breathed. "I'm so sorry about today."

"At least your excuse should be interesting?" Gibbs said, careful to keep his voice low and even so as not to wake the child. "Who's this?"

"This is Virgil Anthony…DiNozzo," Tony said as he sat down on the sofa. "Gil for short."

"Ah," Gibbs said. "And when did Gil come to be in your care?"

Tony took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Let me put him down in the bedroom and I'll tell you everything."

Gibbs waited patiently for about ten minutes before Tony returned. He grabbed two beers and handed one to Gibbs before retaking his seat on the sofa. Gibbs looked at him for a long minute before getting up and joining him. He slung an arm around Tony and the younger man leaned into him the way he had a hundred times before.

"I found him on my doorstep," Tony said. "Early this morning, there was a knock on the door and when I went to open it, no one was there, but Gil was sitting in a portable crib thing. There were a couple bags with clothes and diapers and such and an envelope taped to the crib. I have no idea how anyone could get all that stuff up here with no one noticing, so I searched the hall and the stairwell, but couldn't find anyone. I didn't want to leave him alone, so I gave up."

"What did the letter say?" Gibbs said.

"Yeah, so I brought him and the stuff inside and I got out the letter," Tony went on. "It said I'm his father, that his mother isn't around anymore, and that the person who was caring for him couldn't any longer. There were instructions about what he eats and when he should sleep and for how long. There was also a birth certificate.

"I was going to bring him to work with me," Tony continued. "Have Abby run a DNA test, make sure he's really mine, but when I went to pick him up he was a feverish and crying and I couldn't make him settle down. So I called an ex-girlfriend who is a pediatrician. We parted on good terms and she told me to bring him down to her office. Unfortunately, there were a lot of sick kids and we had to wait quite a while before she could see us. Anyway, turns out he's teething and the fever is normal. By the time we got out of there and I realized I hadn't called into work, you were already gone for the day."

"He's what, six months old?" Gibbs asked.

"Seven," Tony said.

"So the mother was before we…?"

"Yeah," Tony said. "There hasn't been anyone else since we started…us."

"And you know who she is?" Gibbs asked gently. Before they had started whatever this was, Tony hadn't always been real choosy about his dates.

"Yeah," Tony sighed. "We dated for a few weeks, but we both knew that it wasn't going anywhere, so we parted ways. Mutually. Anyway, I tried calling her, but the number she gave me back then was disconnected."

"Well, we're federal investigators," Gibbs said. "If anyone can find her, it will be us. And we'll do that DNA test just to be sure."

"I'll need to be tested again," Tony said. "I've been clean for all three of my regular six month tests, but I need to be sure. I'm always so careful. I don't know how this could have happened."

"There might have been a small hole in one of the condoms," Gibbs said. "It doesn't happen often, but it does happen."

"God, this is such a mess," Tony said as he closed his eyes and leaned his head against Gibbs' shoulder. "Why didn't she tell me? I would have been there for her and Gil. She didn't have to send him to live with…whoever it was that brought him here. I could have been his dad from the very beginning."

"Have you eaten anything today?' Gibbs asked.

"Not since breakfast," Tony admitted.

"Then let's order a pizza and go to bed early," Gibbs said. "We'll feed Gil and go to bed when he does. He's probably old enough to sleep through the night, but if his teeth are hurting him, he might wake up once or twice. It's better if you're rested."

"Thanks, LJ," Tony sighed and reached for the phone.

"You should call Abby and let her know you're alright," Gibbs said. "She was worried about you."

"I'll do that right after I order," Tony said. Just then, Gil started crying and Gibbs waved Tony off and went to get the baby.

"Hey there, little man," Gibbs said softly so as not to startle the boy. As soon as Gibbs picked him up, he stopped crying and looked at Gibbs curiously. "How are you feeling? Feels like you could do with a diaper, and then maybe we can see about getting you fed. How's that sound?"

The baby gave a delighted gurgle. "See that, we're getting along just fine already. You and I are going to be great friends, Gil."

"Making new friends?" Tony asked Gil as Gibbs carried him into the living room. Gil reached out for his daddy and Tony took him with a smile. "I told Abby that everything is fine, and that I'd explain in the morning."

"You just want to see her face when you tell her about Gil," Gibbs teased.

"You know it," Tony smirked. "She's going to squeal."

"Just make sure Gil isn't trying to sleep," Gibbs warned. He went back into the bedroom and grabbed a diaper and some wipes from the diaper bag and brought them out to Tony, who was already peeling away Gils' soiled diaper.

"Oh, gross," Tony moaned. "Why'd ya have to go and leave a bomb in there for your dear old dad? Huh? There's no bomb squad around here!" Gil squealed with delight and giggled when Tony tickled his belly. "Yeah, you think it's funny now, but just you wait. Someday you're going to want to borrow my car and I'm going to remind you of this moment."

Gibbs was impressed with how well Tony dealt with the diaper and how quickly he had Gil back in his little jeans. He let Gil roll over and get on his hands and knees and they watched him rock back and forth, trying to scoot along towards the remote control beside tony on the floor.

"He's going to be crawling in no time," Gibbs said.

"And I'm going to have to find a bigger place," Tony said. "These two rooms just aren't big enough for a baby. Not to mention that nothing in this place is baby proofed. And I don't have any baby gear. I fed Gil on my lap this afternoon, but he got all kinds of disgusting stuff all over me. I don't even have a car seat for him. Luckily Sherry's office is only a few blocks away, but I'll need to drive him soon. And find a daycare."

"I'll go pick up a car seat in the morning while you're getting this guy ready," Gibbs said. "And there's a daycare on base that NCIS agents are able to use. You'll call them after we get to work. As for moving, you've got a little time before he outgrows this place. He's not even crawling yet. As for baby proofing, I'll come over this weekend and we can get you all set up with child locks and move things around so that he can't hurt himself."

By this time, Gil had scooched forward enough to reach the remote. He flopped onto his belly and grabbed the remote before popping it into his mouth.

"No," Tony said gently but firmly. He took the remote from Gil and the boy began to whimper. "Alright, let's go find some food for you. "I think I saw a jar of beef stew earlier. And if you eat that up, I'll let you gnaw on a biscuit for a while. LJ, you've got to see that. It's the grossest thing I've ever witnessed. He gums the biscuit until it's all soggy and then drools this white goo everywhere."

Gibbs chuckled. Watching Tony become a father was going to be interesting.

**GDGDGDGDGD**

It had been a hectic morning. Gibbs got up early and eschewed his morning run for a trip to Walmart to buy a car seat and a few other items for Gil while Tony fed, bathed and dressed the baby. By the time he returned with the car seat, a high chair, a stroller and a supply of diapers and baby food, Gil was dressed and ready, but Tony was covered in what could only be baby food.

"Give me a second to change," Tony sighed as he walked into the bedroom and began rummaging in his closet. "That will teach me to get dressed before feeding this little monster. He decided he doesn't like pears and spit them all over me. He was fine with pears yesterday, so I don't have a clue what the problem was. We ended up with apple sauce and another biscuit, but not before I was covered in goo. At least he had a bib on to protect his clothes."

Tony emerged from the bedroom wearing casual tan slacks and a white oxford with a green pull-over sweater. Gibbs gave him a questioning look and Tony shrugged. "They're washable, unlike the suit I just took off. Hey! You got a high chair! That's great! Thanks, LJ." Tony leaned over and gave Gibbs a kiss. As he did so, Gil decided to get their attention with pats to each of their cheeks.

"Alright, little man," Gibbs said. "Time for us to get a move on."

They went down to Gibbs' car with Gibbs carrying the heavily loaded diaper bag while Tony carried Gil. Tony struggled to get Gil strapped into the seat, but it wasn't long before they were on their way to NCIS headquarters.

"You're really good with him," Gibbs finally said. "I'm a little surprised. I've never seen you around kids."

Tony smiled. "I had a girlfriend when I was in Philly with a daughter. Tina was a little younger than Gil here when Sandy and I started dating. We were together for about a year and I learned quite a bit about babies in that time. Sandy and Tina were both great."

"Why'd you break up?" Gibbs asked. He was driving a lot slower and more carefully than usual as they merged onto the highway.

"I took the job in Baltimore," Tony said. "We tried to keep seeing each other for a while, but the distance thing got too hard and so we drifted apart. Sandy still sends me pictures of Tina at Christmas. She's, god, almost ten now."

"Have you thought about how the team will react when we get there?" Gibbs asked.

"Well, Tim's going to have a blast teasing me about my supposed profligate lifestyle," Tony chuckled. "And Abby's going to go gaga over Gil. Ducky will want to check him over. And Palmer will not know what to say, or will be too afraid to say it if he does."

"I meant how much are you going to tell them?" Gibbs said dryly.

"Oh, well, I'll tell them the truth," Tony said quietly. "It's not like I can lie about it, really. Not when I'm trying to find out what happened to Gail."

They were both quiet for the rest of the drive. When they got onto base and parked, Tony got Gil out of the car seat while Gibbs got the new stroller out of his trunk and figured out how to unfold it. Once Gil was safely in the stroller and the diaper bag tucked under the seat, they headed inside. They stopped for coffee in the lobby and then caught the elevator up to the bullpen.

They were later than usual, so Tim and Abby were already in the office. Abby was sitting on the edge of Tim's desk when they stepped off the elevator. They looked over at Gibbs and Tony and noticed the stroller Tony was pushing right away. The questions started even as Abby and Tim got up and approached their team mates. The speed and the way they overlapped each other made understanding, let alone answering, impossible.

"Enough!" Gibbs barked. "McGee, call Ducky and Palmer and ask them to come up here. Tony will explain, but not until everyone is here. I don't want to listen to this story every five minutes for the rest of the morning. Go!"

Tony smirked as Tim jumped and practically ran to his desk. He pushed the stroller over to his desk and began rummaging around in the diaper bag for Gil's favorite teddy. Tony could tell that he was already getting restless since the motion of the stroller had stopped.

"Aren't you just the cutest?" Abby said as she leaned over and smiled at Gil. "What's his name?"

"Gil," Tony said. "Go ahead. You can pick him up. I know you're dying to do it."

"Ooooh!" Abby squealed as quietly as she could so as not to scare Gil. "Okay, Gil, come to Aunty Abby."

By the time Ducky and Palmer arrived, Tim was holding the teddy and making him dance while Abby held a giggling Gil and sang a cute little song about dancing elephants. Gibbs was watching the interaction with his arms crossed as though expecting something bad to happen and Tony was laughing much like the baby. Ducky smiled at the scene as he and Palmer joined the group.

"So, I take it that the news Timothy spoke of has something to do with this young fellow?" Ducky asked.

"It does," Gibbs confirmed. "DiNozzo. It's your show."

Tony nodded and reached out to pick up Gil. "Okay everyone, this Virgil Anthony DiNozzo. He was born seven months ago, and I just found out about him yesterday."

Tony continued the story, telling them everything he had told Gibbs the night before. He also asked Abby if she could run a DNA test just to be sure there had been no mistake. Then he asked Timothy if he would mind helping him and Gibbs track down Gail Wilson, Gil's mother. He'd also brought the letter in to see if Abby could get any trace evidence from it. There wasn't much to go on, and their search would have to take a back seat to any real case they landed, but all in all it went as Tony had suspected. Abby did squeal a few times and promised to be Gil's favorite aunty. Tim had cracked a couple jokes about Tony's habit of sleeping around—though he hadn't really done that since Jeanne. Ducky wanted to check Gil, despite the fact that Tony had just taken him to the pediatrician yesterday. And Palmer said absolutely nothing.

When it was done, Gibbs reminded Tony that he needed to call the base daycare and the others scurried off to get to work. Tony sat at his desk with Gil in his lap and made the call. He was in luck. One of the babies had been pulled recently because her father had been transferred to Norfolk, so they had an opening. They said that Tony could bring him down right away and they would go over everything. So much of Tony's morning was spent learning what the daycare required, what hours they covered, and how they could take the fee directly from his paycheck. Tony signed all the papers and reluctantly left Gil in the capable hands of the workers.

**GDGDGDGDGD**

They caught a case just after lunch and Tony was running too much to dwell on Gil or miss him. But he was never far from the front of his mind. And even though the case was nowhere near being solved, at seven o'clock, Tony went back to the daycare and picked up his son. They went back to work, and Tony fed Gil while he brainstormed ideas with Tim about possible suspects. Gibbs walked down from MTAC and looked at them curiously but didn't say anything.

Once they were on their way back to Tony's apartment, Gibbs asked about why Tony had picked up Gil early. "I thought they stayed open until eight."

"They do," Tony shrugged. "But I wanted to make sure he was okay. It was a long day for his first time in daycare. And I know that there will be times when I have no choice but to leave him, but this wasn't one of those days. They have a special arrangement for after hours and those who are on duty over night. If we're out on a case and simply can't get back, they have a couple women who stay through the night hours. Apparently I'm not the only single parent working crazy hours around here."

They pulled into the parking lot outside Tony's apartment. "Do you want me to come up?"

Tony smiled. "I always want you to come up. I'm not sure that I can promise anything will happen though."

Gibbs shrugged and got out of the car. Their return was a mirror of their exit that morning. When they got upstairs, Gibbs carried Gil into the bedroom and put him into his crib. He had fallen asleep on the drive and didn't even stir when Gibbs laid him down. Then he went back into the other room to find that Tony had made sandwiches for them. Gibbs turned on the television, knowing that Tony would want to watch something while they ate. He flipped through the stations until he found an old rerun of Magnum PI and left it there. The show was growing on him.

It had been about a year since they had begun this… whatever it was that they had. It had started after they returned from Israel. Gibbs had taken his senior agent to his house and told Tony what Ziva had demanded over bourbon. He told Tony that she had given Gibbs an ultimatum: Tony or her. And he had chosen Tony. Still hopped up on pain meds and exhausted from too long without proper sleep, Tony had kissed him. And Gibbs, relieved that he still had Tony on his team and in his life, had kissed him back. Things had led them to Gibbs' bedroom and they hadn't left until the sun was low in the sky the next afternoon.

Things had been incredibly uncomfortable between them for a few days after that. As if the fact that Ziva was gone wasn't enough to put a strain on their team, as if the director's willingness to hand Tony over to the Israelis wasn't enough stress on the senior agent, they had compounded their problems by sleeping together. And then it had all blown up after a case had gone bad and Tony had acted recklessly, almost getting killed even as he took down the psycho suspect.

_Gibbs slammed Tony against the car and got right in his face. "What the fuck did you think you were doing? You go after a suspect, you take back up! I swear to god, DiNozzo, I will NOT lose you too! I_ _**can't** _ _lose you too!"_

The last was said with a quiet desperation that Gibbs didn't like to claim, but it had done the trick. Tony had closed the small gap between them and kissed Gibbs like he was desperate for him. They had eventually come to their senses and realized that they were outside of NCIS and anyone could have discovered them. They were lucky that time, but both vowed never to let their emotions cloud their judgment where work was concerned again. If Vance ever caught wind of what they were doing, Tony would be yanked from Gibbs' team faster than you could say "Sorry Boss."

Since then, they had been more careful but their affair had continued. It had started with visits to one or the other's home once or twice a week for sex. Over time, it had evolved into something else. Now they spent four or five nights a week together and it was for more than just sex. They often ate dinner together, watched television or a movie. Sometimes Tony would keep him company while he worked on the boat. It was comfortable and unexpected. And they had yet to really talk about it beyond asking which home they would go to that night.

"I love this episode," Tony said as he sat beside Gibbs on the sofa and handed him a plate. "Frank Sinatra plays a retired New York cop whose granddaughter is kidnapped and murdered. He goes to Hawaii to hunt down the killers and gets Magnum to help him. Gotta love Old Blue Eyes. This was his last real acting role before he died. It aired in February of 1987, the seventh season of the show."

"You know way too much about this show," Gibbs declared and went back to watching the television. When one of the killers was run over by a bus, Gibbs smiled.

**GDGDGDGDGD**

"I found something," Tim said late the next afternoon. They had finished up with yesterday's case that morning when Ducky had declared the death a suicide and all of the trace evidence had corroborated. Since then, Tim and Tony had been working on finding Gil's mom. "Gail Wilson was listed under missing persons about a month after Gil was born. I spoke with the DC detective who was assigned the case and he said that he had suspected foul play, especially since the baby was left behind, but could never prove anything."

"Did you ask for a copy of the file?" Tony asked.

"He's sending a PDF version over," Tim told him. "He also said that the last he knew, Gil was in the custody of family services."

"I'll pull up their records," Tony said even as he was typing away at the computer. "See what they have."

A few minutes later, Tony looked up to see both Tim and Gibbs looking at him expectantly. "A family member showed up to take him. It doesn't say why I wasn't contacted. The person who claimed him said he was Gail's father, but Gail told me that both her parents were dead. Died in a car accident when she was in college."

"Confirm that they died, McGee," Gibbs ordered. "Tony, let's check out the address that the supposed father gave family services. McGee, call us if a case comes in. And if Vance asks, tell him we're checking out a lead on a cold case."

"You got it, Boss," Tim said and went back to his computer.

The address was for a run down apartment building in one of the many questionable neighborhoods in DC. They went to the apartment and knocked. When no one answered after ten minutes, they went to see the building manager.

"Apartment 5G?" the man asked. "That was Mike Wilson. But he moved out three days ago. Forfeited his security deposit. He said it didn't matter since he couldn't use it where he was going. Don't have a clue what he meant."

"Can you describe Mr. Wilson?" Gibbs asked.

"I can do better than that," the manager said. "We had a tenant picnic about three months ago. Took pictures and they hung on the hall bulletin board for a while, but I took them down last month. Wait a second and I'll get them. I'm sure Mike was in a couple of those pictures."

He returned a few minutes later looking through a small stack of photos. "Here we go. This is Mike and his grandson, Gil."

He handed them the picture and Tony saw his son being held by an older man with grey hair and blue eyes. He looked haggard, run down by a hard life and possibly illness. They were in front of a picnic table covered in food and there were kids and adults in the background. "Can we keep this?" Tony asked. If nothing else, it was the only photo he had of Gil.

"Sure," the man shrugged. "I can get another copy made if I need it. There might be one or two other photos that I didn't print on my hard drive. If you give me you email address, I can send the files to you."

"Thank you," Tony said and handed his card to the man. "And can you call me if you think of anything else or if Mike returns for some reason?"

"Sure, no problem."

**GDGDGDGDGD**

The DNA came up a match. Gil was definitely Tony's son. And Abby was able to get a small trace of some kind of pharmaceutical that she was currently trying to identify. When Gibbs brought her the photo of Mike Wilson, she began to run that through the face recognition program. Both would take time, and they caught another case in the meantime, so they all had to put a hold on personal matters for a while, even Abby.

Three hectic days and nights later, they caught the bad guy and were able to finally put that case to rest. Tony felt like he hadn't seen Gil in days, though he knew that wasn't true. Each night he had picked Gil up before heading back to his apartment. Gibbs would come when he felt like there was nothing more he could do on the case, usually sometime around eleven. They would eat and go to bed, snuggled up together.

That night, after finishing the paperwork, Tony picked up Gil and took him to his car. He was surprised to find Gibbs waiting there for him.

"We have two days off," Gibbs said with his usual brusqueness. "And it's been more than week since we had sex. Come to my place tonight. I have the guest room where Gil can sleep and we can have some privacy. Stop and pick up what you need from your apartment. I'll take Gil and pick up dinner."

Tony nodded and handed Gil over before unhooking the car seat so that it could be moved into Gibbs car. They split up and Tony smiled as he drove back to his apartment. It had been entirely too long since they had spent two days off together. In fact, even when they had weekends free, recently there had always been some obligation that one or the other had that kept them from spending more than one night and day together.

Tony knew that that their relationship was changing once again. At first it had been all about the sex. And then they had shifted and spent time together outside the bedroom. But since Gil had shown up on his doorstep, they had spent every evening together and hadn't had sex once. Not that they didn't want to, not that they hadn't made out on Tony's sofa once or twice, but the urgency had been replaced by a comfortable closeness that took precedence over their physical urges.

Somehow, Tony thought, he had Ziva to thank for all of this.

He was still angry with his former team mate. She had forced Gibbs to choose between them after that fiasco in Israel. Yes, he had killed her boyfriend, but Michael Rivkin was an assassin and Tony had been trying to protect her. Tony had forced the truth out of Director David even as he had been tortured. But she couldn't handle the truth and she had made her decision.

Even so, when word reached them that she had been killed, Tony had refused to believe it and had risked his life and the lives of their team to once again protect her. This time he allowed himself and Tim to be captured and tortured by Saleem Ulman in Somalia so that they could rescue her. They had walked, or limped, away from that disaster with Ziva. But she hadn't come back. She had decided that she needed to figure out who she was now that her faith in her family had been shattered and had disappeared. A part of Tony hoped she never returned.

He still thought about her, though. He knew that she believed he had killed Rivkin out of jealousy. Tony snorted. He hadn't been jealous; he had cared for Ziva like a sister, like family. She had warped his concern in her pretty little head until it had almost cost Tony his life several times. Her betrayal by sending Mossad classified information seemed less hurtful than the fact that she had betrayed each of them personally by lying to them for years. He knew that Gibbs had forgiven her and would probably take her back if she ever showed up again, but Tony wasn't sure he could forgive quite so easily. And he knew that Abby couldn't. She could hold a grudge like no one Tony had ever met before.

Tony was grateful that Vance hadn't tried to stick them with another agent. First Kate and Paula had been killed, and then agent Lee had betrayed them and then been killed…and now Ziva. Tony didn't think any of them could handle trusting another replacement.

Tony shook off those melancholy thoughts as he entered his apartment and began gathering the things he and Gil would need for the weekend.

When he got to Gibbs' house, he found Gibbs sitting on the living room floor with Gil on his hands and knees trying to scooch towards his favorite bear which was about a foot out of his reach.

"Come on little man, you can do it," Gibbs encouraged. Tony almost gasped in shock when Gil actually began shuffling his knees and moving his arms in a clumsy attempt at crawling. It wasn't perfect, but it got him to the bear and Gibbs cheered and picked Gil and the bear up in a hug. "That's the way to do it!"

"I can't believe it!" Tony said excitedly. He dropped the bags and portable crib he was carrying and rushed over to the two most important people in his life. He kissed Gil and then he kissed Gibbs. "That was so great."

"I'm glad you made in time to see," Gibbs said as he wrapped his arm around Tony and the two men leaned back against the sofa. Gil was eager to get down, so Tony set him back on the floor and his son, encouraged by his earlier success, began his awkward shuffle around the carpet. He stopped to explore little things like the table leg, or the bag Tony had dropped, but he was mostly too busy enjoying his new found freedom to be waylaid by any one thing.

"Definitely going to need to baby proof now," Tony said as they watched Gil.

"Hmm," Gibbs grunted, and Tony knew that his… LJ was thinking over something. Tony didn't press, knowing Gibbs would share when he was ready.

"So, what's for dinner?" Tony asked as he stood and reached out a hand to pull Gibbs to his feet.

"We stopped for Thai," Gibbs said. "It's in the kitchen. I brought in Gil's stroller. I figured it would do as a high chair for now."

"Good thinking," Tony said. "Let me get his food and we can sit down to eat.

It was rather heartwarming the way they just fell into this domestic role. Tony fed Gil and ate his own dinner between bites. Once Gibbs was finished, he took over feeding Gil and cleaned him up with a wet washcloth after he was done. They talked about their day, the cases they had worked that week, their plans for the weekend. It was enough to make Tony's heart swell. It was like they were a family.

Gil babbled unintelligibly as Tony took him upstairs for a bath and Gibbs headed for the basement to work on the boat for a while. Once he was bathed and dressed in his jammies, Tony took Gil down to say goodnight to Gibbs and then put Gil to bed in his crib in the guest room. Tony was surprised to see that Gibbs had set up a baby monitor and night light. With a smile, he grabbed the receiver before closing the bedroom door and heading back down the stairs to the basement.

"Thanks for this," Tony said as he held up the receiver for Gibbs to see.

"No problem," Gibbs shrugged. "There's not much need for one in you small apartment, but I thought it would be good for nights when you stay here."

Tony walked over and kissed Gibbs. Gibbs dropped the sanding block he had been using moments before and kissed Tony back hungrily. "Let's take this upstairs."

"Sounds like a great idea."

**GDGDGDGDGD**

They spent a few hours out on Saturday shopping for more things for Gil. He needed a real crib and a dresser they could use as a changing table. He also needed more clothes and toys. Of course, once Tony got into the baby store, he wanted everything he saw. Gibbs had to keep reminding him that Gil didn't need every gadget ever invented. No one needed an electric baby food dish or radiant heat bottle warmer; a microwave worked just fine.

They picked out a nice crib and dresser in oak. It was simple with clean lines and the dresser could be used as a changing table and even had a removable shelf for the talc and butt cream. They also picked out a matching gliding rocker. Then they picked the bedding. When they paid and they were giving the salesperson his address for the delivery, it suddenly hit Tony that there wasn't enough room for all that furniture in his already cramped apartment.

"I have got to move," Tony groaned as they walked out of the store a few minutes later. "The furniture is going to be delivered next week and I'm not going to have a place to put it. I'll have to climb over the sofa to get to the kitchen."

"So go back in there and have them deliver the furniture to my house," Gibbs said quietly.

"What?" Tony asked.

"Tony, we practically live together already," Gibbs rationalized. "Other than when we have obligations, we spend every night together. So let's just make it official. Move in with me. There's plenty of room for you and Gil. And you can even bring that monstrous television with you."

"It's not monstrous," Tony objected. "And you know you like watching Magnum with me."

Gibbs smirked. "Keep telling yourself that."

"LJ!" Tony groaned. "Don't do this to me now. So much is already changing. I'm just not sure that we should be rushing into something like this to make things more convenient for Gil. Or me."

"It's not about convenience," Gibbs argued. "It's like I said. We practically live together already; even before Gil showed up we spent most of our free time together. And it seems silly for you to find a new place when we both know you're going to move in eventually anyway. Why move twice?"

Tony laughed at Gibbs' smug declaration. "You are so sure of everything."

"Not everything," Gibbs said. "But this? Yeah, I'm sure about this. I'm sure about us."

"Define us," Tony said. "Because we haven't even done that yet."

"Us… Partners, colleagues, friends, lovers, all of those things and more." Gibbs grabbed Tony and wrapped his arms around him. "You are the most important person in my life. I want to be a family with you and Gil. Will you please move in with me?"

"Yes," Tony said with a wide grin. "Now, let's go back in there and change the address on that delivery form."

**GDGDGDGDGD**

The call from Abby came on Sunday. "I've got something."

"What is it Abs?" Tony asked, looking at Gibbs across the breakfast table.

"The medication on the letter is a very strong pain medication," Abby said. "I had McGee track down the prescription and we found that it was prescribed to Wilson by Dr. John Thompson. Wilson was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor about four months ago. According to the records on the doctor's computer, he had been trying to get Wilson to go into hospice care for a while. He even noted several homes he recommended. Tim's working on checking those homes for Wilson now."

"That's great, Abby," Tony sighed. "Thanks. Anything more on Gail? Or her connection to Mike Wilson?"

"Nothing so far," Abby said. "I think you might have to get it from the man himself. But I can tell you that he's not going to live much longer. The doctor gave him between three and six months when he diagnosed him. It's now been four months. He could die at any time."

"Have Tim call me when he finds out which hospice this guy's in," Tony said.

After he hung up, Gibbs asked, "Hospice?"

"Turns out Mike Wilson has an inoperable brain tumor and is dying," Tony said. "That's probably why he brought Gil to me."

"So when McGee gets us the information we're paying him a visit?" Gibbs asked.

"Yeah, that's the plan," Tony said.

They were quiet as they finished their breakfast and cleaned up. Gibbs took Gil to get him dressed and wondered if Tony would want to bring him to the hospice or leave him with Abby. When he posed the question a little later, Tony smiled sadly. "He looked after Gil for a time and I'm sure it must have been hard to give him up. I think we can bring him."

**GDGDGDGDGD**

The call came just before lunch, so they fed Gil before leaving, though neither man was particularly hungry themselves. After Gil was fed and cleaned up they were on their way, following the GPS directions. The hospice was almost in the same neighborhood as Wilson's old apartment and was just as rundown. They were shown to Wilson's room by a kindly nurse who told them that the man had only had a couple visitors since his arrival.

"You found me," Wilson said as soon as he saw them enter. "I wasn't sure if you would even try. Or if you did, if you'd manage it before I died."

"Why did you just leave him?" Tony asked as he took the seat beside the man's bed while Gibbs leaned against the wall. "Why not tell me what was going on?"

Wilson shrugged. "Didn't want to explain why she never told you. Why I never told you after…"

"After?" Tony asked. "Do you know what happened to Gail?"

Wilson turned his head away but he nodded. There were tears running down his face. "She was suffering from post-partum depression. The doctor said she'd get through it, but she didn't. I found her. She'd swallowed the entire bottle of the pills the doctor had prescribed. I didn't want Gil to know that his mother had done that. I didn't want him to blame himself. So I took her to a park that she used to love when she was a little girl. I found a nice spot in the woods and laid her to rest. By the time I got back to her place, the police were there, so I left. I went to Child Services to get Gil once I was sure it was safe."

He turned back to face Tony. "I tried to help her, you have to believe that. Please, don't tell him. He'll ask some day. Please don't tell him."

"I can't promise that," Tony said. "But I can promise that I'm going to do my very best to make sure he's happy and healthy knows how much he is loved so that it won't matter if he does ask someday."

Wilson nodded sadly. "Are you going to arrest me?"

"And waste the taxpayers' money?" Gibbs scoffed. "You would never even make it to trial. And I believe that you didn't kill her. Can you tell us where she's buried? She deserves to have a real grave. Someplace that Gil can go and visit when he's older."

"Yeah, yeah, I can do that," Wilson said.

"Why didn't she tell me?" Tony finally asked.

"Because she had convinced herself that you wouldn't want him," Wilson said. "I was there when she was dating you. I heard all about the great guy that you are and I was sure she was wrong, but I didn't want to go against her wishes. I had already missed so much of her life."

"She told me her parents were killed in a car wreck when she was in college," Tony said.

"Her mother and stepfather were," Wilson corrected. "We were estranged, but Gail found me a couple years ago. We'd been trying to rebuild our relationship. But I wasn't enough to help her through this."

Tony got up and held Gil out to Wilson. The older man accepted the baby gratefully. They visited quietly for a little while until Tony could see the old man's strength waning. He left the photograph of Wilson and Gil at the picnic. He could make another copy from the files the building manager had sent him.

**GDGDGDGDGD**

They worked with DC Metro to recover Gail's body and they did a small investigation. The autopsy had corroborated Wilson's story, and the detective investigating agreed that pressing charges for covering up the suicide would be more trouble than it was worth. Wilson lived long enough to attend the small burial service Tony arranged. He died a few days later and Tony arranged to have him buried beside Gail. Tony had told the building manager about the funeral and Tony was pleased to see that some people from his old building had come.

"You didn't have to do all this," Gibbs told him as they were walking back to the car after Wilson's burial service.

"He was Gil's grandfather," Tony shrugged. "And some day, he'll want to know and it will be good for him to be able to come out here and see where his mother and grandfather were buried."

Gibbs agreed. "You are a great father, did you know that?"

"I'm trying," Tony said.

"Are you okay with how all this turned out?" Gibbs asked.

Tony was quiet for a few minutes. "I think so. I mean, I've got Gil, now, even if I missed the first few months of his life. I've got you, LJ. And it's only three weeks until football season. I think, overall, I'm pretty happy with my life these days."

"Good to know," Gibbs said with a smirk. They reached Gibbs' car and settled Gil into his seat before settling into the front. The rest of the attendees had already left the cemetery. Instead of starting the car and heading home, Gibbs looked long and hard at Tony. "I think I'm pretty happy these days as well."

Then Gibbs leaned over and kissed Tony and that single kiss contained a wealth of emotions and promises for the future.

**The End**

**Author's Note:**

> There are four more stories in this series... Over the Top, Out the Window, Off the Grid and Into the Sunset. I hope you enjoy them all! Jules


End file.
